Cadence burst out laughing.
“What’s so funny?” I asked.
“You’re playing at The Stadium Club.”
“Okay… and…”
“That’s where my friends and I always hang out. It’s, like, our place. Fayetteville is where I’m from.”
“Oh, shit. You never mentioned that.”
“You never asked.”
“Maybe I’ll see you there. And maybe I’ll get to meet all your friends.
“I’m throwing it into the universe. May the stars align for us.”
“Hmph. Yeah.”
Our conversation lulled, leading into a shared silence. Oddly enough, the quiet comforted me. Phone silence was typically awkward. Others, and usually Cadence, were compelled to fill it. But absorbing our own thoughts together felt right.
“Well…” Cadence said, breaking the trance. “I should get back to work.”
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah, thanks for the pep talk. It truly helped.”
“Anytime. And, hey. See you soon.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, I hope so.”
As we hung up, I ran my hand through my hair again, still thinking about the rhythmic tones of her voice. I pulled up my photos and found the one I was looking for.
It was a photo Jade had sent me from a show this summer. The band and I had gathered around the two of them, showing off for the picture. Hudson leaned on Jade’s shoulder, Colton made a ridiculous face, Shane flashed his panty-dropping smile, and Jeremiah looked awkward as usual standing next to everyone. I stood behind them, with my arms above my head, not even looking at whoever had taken the photo. The girls looked naturally gorgeous, as expected, and smiled like that was the best night of their lives.
I didn’t know what had driven me to save the photo when Jade sent it all those weeks ago, but I had.
Zooming in on Cadence, I studied her face. Her amber eyes lit up as she laughed, her perfect mouth was open, showing off her white teeth. One of us had most likely cracked some stupid joke at the expense of ourselves in the name of comedy. There was a good chance it was me, because even then, I’d do anything to make her laugh.
She was real. Genuine.
As my gaze traveled down her slim neck, my dick twitched with the thought of gripping her there while I pushed my lips against hers and ran my tongue along them.
She had on a tank top, but the v-cut did nothing to hide the modest curves underneath. Just enough to make any man drool. Her waist curved in and led to one of the most scrumptious asses I’d ever seen and I was hard just thinking about her.
I stood, rearranging my dick so it was at least somewhat comfortable in my pants. As pleasant as it could be with a raging hard-on.
Going back into the house, I found Grant sitting on thecouch, playing with his cell phone while Maylee watched Moana for the hundredth time.
It was tempting to go into the bathroom and relieve the painful need that had settled into my pulsing dick. The kids wouldn’t miss me, and I was so wired with sexual tension I’d only need a few minutes. But something about jacking off in the bathroom of your sister’s house while watching your niece and nephew just seemed wrong.
So wrong.
Instead, I closed my eyes and thought of baby penguins, puppies, and anything else that would calm my desire as I walked to the couch and ignored the friction in my jeans.
“Scoot over,” I told Grant.
He grunted a reply, and I plopped beside him with a groan.
